Sarajevo has been marked by the builders of three eras. Ottoman Sarajevo survives
in the great mosques and alleyways of Baščaršija. The Austro-Hungarian
city extends along the river and westwards while Yugoslav Sarajevo exists in
the blocks and hosing developments, which stretch west again just as the buildings
of the pre-1918 city begin to peter out. "Sarajevo's development
as a socialist city benefited immensely from a change in economic philosophy
proclaimed by Tito ten years after the war," writes Donia. "At
a rally in June 1955 he announced that economic policy henceforth "should
stimulate the development of industrial sectors that directly influence the
improvement of living standards."

The colossal investment in the industrial base in the late 1940s, coupled
with the gradual rise in consumer spending, powered economic growth in
the 1950s at a rate unprecedented in Sarajevo's history and unparalleled
in most cities of the world. Personal income rose 11 percent annually between
1952 and 1964. In 1948, 72 percent of the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina
lived in rural communities; that number fell to 36.6 percent by 1971. The
perpetual expansion of the housing stock in Sarajevo and other cities provided
a growing supply of comfortable housing for those drawn into urban areas.

As a result, the most conspicuous transformation in the Sarajevo cityscape
was the rise of ubiquitous high-rise residential complexes. Drawn by the
city's
disproportionate economic benefits, better living conditions, and urban cultural
life, immigrants came to the city from both the countryside and other towns....The
great expansion of the city took place westwards....High-rise apartment buildings
arose periodically along Vojvoda Putnik Street, which soon became a boulevard
with tram tracks between the east and westbound lanes. Many high-rises were
built in the spirit of a master design used throughout Yugoslavia, and costs
were carefully controlled. Even architects complained of the drab repetitiveness
of the new housing structures. Ivan Štraus complained, "The settlements
were arranged in rows westwards, and each addition reached the level of mediocrity
of its predecessor." One pundit dubbed these structures "Tito
Baroque."

Although their uniformity put off some observers, the high-rise housing
settlements were redeemed by the convenience they offered their inhabitants,
and they fulfilled the socialist vision of making all important services
immediately accessible to the working class. Most buildings were grouped
in settlements served by cafés, restaurants, shops, one or two schools,
a tramway and bus stop, and a small park or central square. With contemporary
utility services, finished interiors, and regular maintenance, the new apartments
were valued by those who lived there and coveted by those who did not. Sarajevans
did not stop appreciating their cultural heritage, but they opted in overwhelming
numbers for residence in the new, undistinguished skyscrapers.